Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

AND, for the last post of the year- somehow this got posted yesterday accidentally as a rough draft...to my neglect...but it was supposed to come AFTER the post below. So, be sure you don't miss the Gingerbread House post.... and re-read this one in case you read it before it was fully edited.

I've been working hard to simplify our Christmas this year which has included cutting down the Christmas budget, cutting down the number of gifts the kids get (big time), and cutting down the amount of cooking I'm doing during the holidays. I'm also going to cut down on blogging for the next two weeks as a way to better enjoy our time and to take a break, in honor of Jesus' birthday and mine.

You can see some of the things we usually make for Christmas here though....

~like Great-Grandma Clara's Coleslaw that she served in her restaurant
~or the Prime Rib I usually make every year that my husband looks forward to
~the homemade biscotti that I make to give away every year

and just so you don't miss everything else Christmas you can click on the Christmas link...

Our family also makes Rogies (aka. Perogies) every year for my birthday (Dec. 24th) since it's one of my favorite dishes and my mom is German so she has a wonderful recipe for them. I'll post that recipe eventually. =0) It's tough though, it's one of those "you-have-to-learn-from-someone-showing-you-how-to-make-them" sort of recipes... like Tamales.... But I need to get the recipe on here for my daughter! =0) Oh and this year we are changing things up a bit and my sweet husband is hosting my family at our house for my birthday on the 24th and he's doing tamales in the crock-pot which I can hardly wait for! I'll post that later too.

I also want to make English Toffee this year and if I do I'll eventually post that recipe as well.

Meantime, keep Christmas simple and keep it focused on the One that we're celebrating....Christ, Emmanuel...God with us....come to rescue the world and give us hope.

I'll be back here January 5th with lots of new recipes that I've been trying and working on. I have so many things I want to make and perfect..... can't wait to get back to it! See you then!